Friday, December 30, 2016

The best way to teach sight words

Teaching kids to read is the core of any kindergarten curriculum. It's a privilege to have a front row seat to the wonder of going from not knowing any letters in September to actually reading in June. It's one of the things I love most about kindergarten. Watching kids learn to read can be a simply amazing experience for them and for us.

What do our kids need to know to become effective readers? People have different opinions about the best way to teach reading, and when to teach reading, but everyone agrees we need to teach sight words.

In order to build fluency and comprehension our kids will need to memorize sight words. I call these words trick words because they don't follow the rules. One thing every kid knows about is NOT following rules. It takes the pressure off. No sounding out when it comes to sight words.

Kids learn sight words by being exposed to them .... A LOT! They need to see them in texts, in pocket charts, on word wall, on anchor charts. everywhere!!